Art of distillation



A. E. BECKER ART OF DISTILLATION July 10, 1928.

VAPORS TO CONDENSOR.

F'RACTIONATING Filed March 1 923 MATERIAL 8T1 LL Patented Jul 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABMAN E. BECKER, QF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD OIL DE- VELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ART OF DISTILLATION.

Application filed March 6, 1923. Serial No. 623,122.

trainment or mechanical carrying over of.

minute droplets of vaporized liquid, and to secure a final condensate of only the fraction desired. These difficulties increase as the boiling temperature of the liquid being distilled increases. When the liquid is for example a. hydrocarbon of the character of petroleum, the flash point, viscosity, and color may be adversely affected by reason of local overheating and entrainment of liquid particles.

In proceedin in accordance with the present invention, t e material in distillation is contacted with substances affording heat transfer, and extensive surfaces. Where it is desired totake the fullest advantage of the features of the invention, the substance wool is placed in the still and tower 4; theliquid is maintained at the customarylevel in the still, say half way, and vapors rising pass up through the interstices of the wool in the still and in the tower and the final vapors thence proceed by a pipe 5 to a condenser (not shown). If deslred, avacuum may also be put on the still. The metallic wool in the body of liquid affords an equalizing heat transfer medium, while at the same time the actual bulk of such material is insufficient to substantially cut down the still capacity. In the vapor space over the liquid the wool catches entrained droplets and mist, and the mass of wool affords cuts.

is placed in the still, both in the liquid and.

a progressively graduated temperature path on up the tower with adequate surface and affords conditions favorable for good fractionation. Along with such effects, where distilling paraffin lubricating stocks, a coordinate segregation of paraffins by progressive molecular weights appears to go with the successive cuts, the amorphous com pounds of. petrolatum character remaining in the still residue. In this manner it is possible to obtaincleanly-pressing paraffin Where fractionation is not desired, the tower is dispensed with, and the wool placed in the still and up to the outlet to the vapor line 6, as shown in Fig. 2. In cases where it may be desired to keep the liquid entirely free from any filling material, the advantages of the invention may be realized for the vapor path, by providing the wool in the top of the still and in the tower, or in the tower only.

Where corrosive materials are being dis- .tilled, wools of Monel metal, alummum, or

silicates or other desired substance may be used.

\Vhile a substance in the physical'form of a fibrillar pervious mass as a wool is preferable, wire or metallic gauze bunched or rolled up or turnings of steel, iron or other metals may be used, and theadvantagcs of the invention may be realized in lesser proportion, by the use of the heatconducting substance in the form of pieces or fragments.

Although I have described the invention with reference to certain specific details, it will be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration and is not limitative, and the invention is to be considered as limited only as defined in the following claim in which it is my intention to claim all inherent novelty as broadly as the prior art permits.

What I claim is: I

The improvement in the art of distilling hydrocarbon oils, which comprises subjecting a considerable body of oil to distillation at a temperature not materially in excess of its temperature of vaporization, while in contact with steel wool.

ARMAN E. BECKER. 

